Epic Endgame Review

So, I just saw Avengers: Endgame and while my review style is to be somewhat interpretative to allow you to weigh my criticisms and praises to reflect on your own… but there are no opinions when it comes to this movie… only facts. The fact is this is the greatest film in all of existence. Citizen Kane? Goodbye. Avatar. Goodbye. Oscar Best Picture? No need to even hold a ceremony, it’s winning all of them. Endgame is the type of movie that is going to run Viagra out of business… if you know what I mean. I am honestly shaking and crying right now just how utterly perfect this movie is and if you say otherwise your just punk loser trollin’, taking movies to seriously. Your some real cool person just because you hate Marvel. Not. A Great movie, loved every minute of it.

100/10.

Thanks for reading see you at the movies!

[Image credit: Marvel Studios]

Okay, I think it’s safe to start the actual review. Sorry I’m trying to avoid any death threats, don’t worry I’m sure these people are stupid and since they heard what they wanted to hear have surely clicked off by now. Avengers: Endgame is the grand pseudo-conclusion to the impressive achievement that has been the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Pseudo-conclusion because at this point it’s more likely they’ll stop making the actual comics before the movies. To just celebrate the achievement that is the MCU I’m going to sort of tackle the mania of Endgame; the good and the bad that’s surrounded the film. Hopefully my cold open demonstrates the rabid bad apples of the fan base who take their idolization a little far. How has the lead up and the film itself made Endgame the culture cornerstone of a generation?

Pre-sold tickets

The day the tickets were being sold for this film was insane! I remember hearing websites crashing left and right and if you didn’t order them that day then well good luck. I saw this movie the second week and when I reserved my seat the night before for a noon showing and there weren’t seats available outside the first two rows. Everyone was planning to see this film, and the box office shows. It has already made $2 Billion and I really don’t see how it fails to topple Avatar with such a start.

The Shameless Critics

Besides hearing news that critics were receiving death threats by people who hadn’t seen the movie, I remember seeing a tweet that criticized some of the early critic responses as being “thirsty for those pull-quotes”. Basically, were critics using superfluous language to hyperbolize their opinions just so that it could be used to promote the movie and indirectly promote themselves. I think you should always take initial reviews with a grain of salt, especially those who are invited to the premieres… I’m sure if I gave you a free expenses paid trip to Disneyland and then asked you to give your opinion on my blog you might be a little nicer then deserved. I don’t understand why one would care so much about receiving a quote on promotional material… I mean Photoshop does exist. Maybe I’m not one to talk, saw this quote poster the other day and would you look at that there I am. Guess which one’s me?

(Do I really think I’m fooling anyone with that quote… I don’t know maybe it’s just to distract you from the rest of the poster.)

Spoiler MineField

I actually didn’t have this movie spoiled for me. I noticed things that raised my suspicions… a lot of similar images being used after the release. The Russo Brothers odd tactic of asking people politely to not spoil it has been rather effective. I did wonder how long everyone was going to play nice with this idea, and it was jarring when the directors actually were like “yeah, Monday. I guess. Spoil the hell out of it. Who cares it’s been two weeks”? Okay I guess most of us saw it already but I guess if you see it week three you’re a fake fan I guess? I noticed re-watching Infinity War that almost every line in that movie became some sort of meme so I didn’t know when this one would spawn some of its own. I believe that because of cultural relevance they’ll find something but tone and sort of intensity have made this one probably not the same in terms of farming meme content.

The Review (SPOILERS AHEAD)

I have sort of an interesting hot take on this one, but I think it makes perfect sense, I don’t consider Endgame a movie not in the traditional sense at least. Endgame what it is, it’s essentially the greatest hits album. It’s a great collection of what feels like the best moments from all the films that lead up to this; It’s the ultimate fan service and for those who just love Marvel this film is a blast. The MCU is easier to compare to television than a film franchise. I always like to consider that the final episode in a series probably isn’t going to be your favorite. However, the goal of most finales is to both reward the fans and to present a satisfying conclusion and I think that applies to Endgame nicely. A lot of music people wouldn’t say that Greatest Hits Albums aren’t their favorites. All the best music from a beloved artist, yet they’ll argue congruity. They’ll argue the best albums have a collective sound, a resounding theme across, a certain sense of personal authorship in making that specific collection of songs. Endgame is a greatest hits album; it lacks certain expected qualities of a “great film” but it’s a different entity and for what it is I do think it is great.

Thanos

I remember Thanos looking a little more threatening.

Thanos is nerfed so hard in this film that he became so dreadfully uninteresting. Everyone is dismissing this as the “yeah, Infinity War was the Thanos story so this one isn’t about him” but while that might be true why can’t this film have an interesting antagonist? I see why there might be a struggle to have an adversary with infinite power I thought that was the point of him in the movie how do we stop the unstoppable force but then they just reduced him to a purple punching bag with the Darth Maul version of Cloud Strife’s sword. Is 2014 Thanos really scary? The what 8 people on Titan almost beat him with 4 Dragon Balls and now he’s supposed to fight everyone literally everyone and still pose a threat. I feel like they tried to beat Tom Brady in the Superbowl and then after they lost improved their team and challenged Michigan Tom Brady and act like that’s impressive. It felt like they dumb the character down, for someone so obsessed with his destiny I do kind of question why he didn’t use the time stone to look into his future and see they’re going to try and undo his manifest destiny? Instead of some unmentioned “not plot hole” where Ebony Maw/Squidward reverse engineers Pym particles… why couldn’t they just have Infinity Gauntlet Thanos show up. I feel like it would have been unexpected, It would have raised tension, and it’s certainly in the willing suspension of disbelief because he just goes whatever I have the magic McGuffin glove and I can do a few tricks with it.

The Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Stuff

Time travel is always going to bug some people because it’s a logistical nightmare and everything is really just a means to an end and personally, I found these means to be justified. A lot of what this movie is just callbacks, references, and reincorporation from the other 22 films and time travel seems like the best way to achieve a seamless incorporation of as much of those as possible. It’s a little frustrating that it chooses to go very safe with the time travel in that they never do anything too absurd or crazy with it but also don’t really set rules it abides by or limits/grounds the possibilities. The ending with Captain America is an awesome scene and all but it’s a stupefying mess. It breaks everything the film explained and I don’t want to say they were lazy because I genuinely believe they don’t care how something gets put on the screen just considering what gets put on the screen. The Russo Brothers seem to know the scene is an emotional and appropriate send-off to the character and it doesn’t matter if how they get there makes no damn sense. I think they’re right as filmmakers for most of their audience won’t care to focus on the latter.

If you’re philosophy is “Don’t care how, just make it fun” did they utilize the time travel to its full potential. I don’t know why not have like 5 different Captain Americas at the final fight scene. Why not? With the lax rules it was rather tensionless, there was no ticking clock or urgency and then the trials and tribulations to retrieving each stone was: a conversation, Rocket getting it off screen, picking it up from a crate, picking it up from a space crate, ripping off Toy Story 2, and Black Widow throwing herself off a cliff. These are all framed as interesting as they can be but that is the obstacles they have to overcome.

My tiny problem is that there should never be any tension in the MCU again. The time travel aspect is sort of handled like the Rick and Morty multiverses (Spider-man: Far From Home confirms this) in which while the infinity stones are destroyed in this universe there is a parallel universe that has infinity stones somewhere along its continuum. So if a future movie feels that hey, this problem really could use Iron-Man they could just time-travel to the potentially infinite Tony Stark’s to have existed find him on some fishing trip or when he’s sleeping and then barrow him and then return him to his own timeline instantly. I guess “nobody’s ever really gone” but time travel/multiverse ideas just both dilute the impact of events that occurred and relieves all the tension of future conflicts.

Does Pandering cheapen the Experience

I feel that most of my critics are negative and I don’t know overall I’d say my outlook on the film is generally positive but that can be surmised easily into: I enjoy the characters, the balance of tone and humor, and I’m just a sucker for that “willfully being emotional manipulated” through nostalgia of the materials history. However, this movie is unapologetically a movie catering to the masses and when you see it bring everything in a three-hour movie to a screeching halt just to pander to people it’s all so unnecessary. The gay Russo Brother cameo bit was so incredibly stupid in just how thrown in and forced it felt. I’m all for the inclusion in Marvel movies but maybe they should be more integral than pretty much the equivalent of holding a shot for 10 seconds and then having a man walk on screen and flash a sign that says, “I’m gay” and then walk off. Congrats, if it makes people happy then good for all involved but it’s a little disingenuous to kind of just shoehorn it in there and then parade around the press junkets patting yourself on the back for “turning people into an tool to help your own image”.

I’m sorry the “woman of Marvel” please applaud scene was laughably dumb. I definitely think it’s fine they all got they’re moment and the actresses do deserve some praise for the idiotic people they’ve had to deal with while playing their roles. However, the fact that you felt the need to single them out from the battlefield either means you don’t feel confident that you’re showcasing how amazing they are in the rest of the battlefield scene or you believe you’re audience is to stupid to say hey there’s a lot of kick-ass awesome women in the MCU unless they specifically went out of their way to directly put it in front of your face. You might think this is harsh, but if all the men of the MCU began to snap march up to Thanos West Side Story style doesn’t sound like an incredibly silly waste of time, then your being slightly hypocritical.

The worst pander was to children, the executives thought our gloomy depression narrative might not be the most-kid friendly… but oh look it’s Fortnite. Fortnite being relevant in 5 years… hahahahaha.

I can’t say that these pandering scenes are the biggest waste of time because I mean there’s a two-minute scene of Iron-Man and Nebula playing paper football so they’re not the worse things clogging up the run-time. I’m sure someone loves these scenes and you have every right to, I just personally see it as checking them off the list than really caring for creating inclusive or empowering scenes.

My Thoughts on Specific Things That Don’t Get Their Own Part

5 years was a little too far of a time skip into the future for me. I get why, it was a realistic time for Tony Stark to settle down as well as other’s changes to seem drastic but to tell me the entire planet is still mopping around half a decade later, give me a break. Half the population is an unheard of travesty and I’m sure it left everyone effected in some capacity. The sad truth about tragedy: 9/11, The Holocaust, World Wars, The Black Plague among other horrible genocides and disaster… the sad truth is that someone had to wake up and go to work the next morning. I don’t know how everyone would handle the rapture pretty much happening but I don’t think it would be everyone gets depressed and does nothing noteworthy for 5 whole years.

I know Sam Wilson (Falcon) is supposedly Captain America in recent comic books, but in the MCU are we really supposed to feel that Steve Rodgers would choose him to inherit the mantle over Bucky?

I don’t know why, but the final fight scene reminded me of the ending of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and a slight part of me just wanted to see the “time police” arrest everyone before we got our epic battle.

How does Ant-Man survive getting hit with a space ballistic missile and then be completely fine?

Nebula wasn’t as interesting as they wanted her to be,
she gets a lot of screen time, but her development and impact don’t conclude in
a really satisfying way.

It was risky having both the Hulk and Thor being not
what we traditionally expect from the character but both surprises did stick
the landing. The duo brought a lot of fun energy. Thor was kind of robbed of
his epic revenge battle, but I guess things don’t always work out, but his
character was still enjoyable.

I like to thing when people say Dr. Strange saw all those possibilities that the snap is not predetermined but instead completely random. So essentially, Dr. Strange gambled that every character that had a significance in Endgame and if he lost any of those coin flips then he just automatically loses.

The visual credits deserve some love, it was incredible to see each of the main actors put their signature on the film must have been an electric moment at the premiere.

No Thanos copter or Ant-Man’s ultimate solution… disappointing.

The End of an Era

Avengers: Endgame answers the call to try an appeal to the masses and instead of being too obsessed with providing the perfect conclusion, it feels confident in proving an enjoyable and satisfying one. “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die” The Marvel Universe has grown as such a legacy, it will be difficult seeing it lose its roots in a sense. The Marvel Cinematic Universe without Black Widow, without Captain America, without Iron-Man and without Stan Lee. While some will discredit the superhero craze as hysteric genre trend of the time, our hero obsession might not be so unfounded. With these heroes do they embody the traits of courage, bravery, and sacrifice among many others. We hope that their idol status can not only help to discover the hero within ourselves, but through these noble traits discover a life worth living, a life’s work worth fulfilling, and a life worthy of being remembered.

Wow, it’s not everyday you review quite possibly the biggest movie ever. I hope I did it and myself justice. I’ve noticed that my reviews, well some of the better ones at least have this weird relationship where they mirror the film it discusses. This one is long and messy but I tried my best to represent the best of what I do: the poor attempts at humor, the graphic design, the criticism that ponder the film inside and out. I don’t how long this will last, or what exactly the future holds but I guess that’s both terrifying yet exciting. Here in the now, let’s celebrate what has been done; here’s to all the incredible writers I’ve had the pleasure of reading from reading during my time here. I’m going to link below some of their… let’s face it better reviews of Endgame. Thanks for the quotes, please do check out these talented people.

Lucy Goes to Hollywood congrats on taking a lot of new steps in your blogging career starting a patreon. I can’t donate but the least I can do is to tell y’all should go check her out there’s some pretty neat stuff over there.

Fantastic review! You did a really good job at analyzing both the positives and negatives of not only the film, but also everything surrounding the film! Thank you for bringing up the question about who Steve would have given the Captain America title to. After reading and hearing several reviews for Avengers: Endgame, I noticed that this specific part of the film has been rarely brought up in cinematic discussion. In my spoiler review of the film, I explained that one of the things I didn’t like about this movie was how some plot points within the film raised questions about future MCU projects. One of these plot points was when Sam Wilson received the title of Captain America from Steve. Because the show, Falcon & Winter Soldier, has already been announced to premiere on Disney+ later this year, that aforementioned plot point brings up more questions about this show that the creative team behind Avengers: Endgame were probably willing to address. I’m guessing these questions will be answered at events like D23 Expo and San Diego Comic Con, but I just think some of these questions could have been answered within the film.

Thanks for the compliments, I’m glad you liked it. I understand the Falcon decision from a business perspective of Anthony Mackie is a more established actor, and you get a more diverse line-up, and spice up a character but am I wrong in saying that Falcon has always been treated as a guy who’s just kind of there? I thought 2/3 of the Captain America movies was setting up Bucky’s redemption arc which wouldn’t having him become Capt. America be a satisfying conclusion to that. Looper has been milking endgame like crazy and they did a video that pretty much said “Bucky wouldn’t want it” but that’s perfect for both internal conflict and forging an interesting character moment where a near death Steve Rodgers is entrusting a reluctant Bucky to take the mantle. Just encrust some message in the shield “a leader is never about what they’ve done, but what they’re willing to do” make a joke out of it “If I’m not here to protect you anymore at least the shield will”. IDK I found it jarring but maybe this is what’s best for the show and the future of the MCU so who knows.

You’re welcome! It’s funny that you mentioned the Looper video about why Bucky wasn’t given the Captain America title, because I just discovered and watched it today. In fact, I’m planning on creating a blog post in response to that video. I do agree that the Captain America films did seem like they were going to give Bucky the title. But I feel that Falcon has always been just as important of a character as all the heroes in the MCU. While I understand where Looper is coming from when they said that “Bucky wouldn’t want it”, I think, within that scene, Steve should’ve at least asked Bucky if he wanted the title. As a Bucky fan, I would have wanted to see Bucky being given a chance to choose.

Great review! I feel like I need to write a second review of it with spoilers because there is so much to talk about. You did a really good job breaking it all down, and I agree with a lot of the flaws you pointed out (that women of Marvel thing was so cringey) and questions you raised.

Thank You! I’d say go for it there’s definitely just so much movie to talk about, I’d certainly be sure to read it if you did. Again, thank you so much for the compliments I just did my best to wrap my head around everything and I was sure maybe someone would agree or find some interest in what was being said.